Lashes
by 1983Sarah
Summary: Uses the word "Lash". Takes place in season three, Dean protects Sam from a Demon and then leaves Sam to handle a difficult situation. Rather grim in nature.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**: This was written for Enkidu07/Onyx Moonbeam's Weekly Drabble Challenge.

**Episode: **_Not written for any Specific Episode._

**Players**: Enkidu07, Mad Server, Onyx Moonbeam, IheartSam7, Orange Autumn, NC Girl, Nana56, MuffyMorrigan, mahtalie, Sherry Darling, supernaturalsammy67, Twinchy, twinchaosblade, PADavis, InSecret, deangirl1, Supernoodle, Vanessa Sgroi, moonlight80, Chailyn, Dream Painter, Thru Terry's Eyes, writergirl94, sweetysmart0505, silver ruffian, letting the rain in, xFaithyx, Dreadedfemale, DeansBabyBird, PlatinumRoseLady, SciFiRN, Vampyr4lyfe, TheDarklighter, jasper03, sweetysmart0505

**Challenge Word:** _**Lash**_

***SPOILERS***  
Takes place in season three.

****Author's Note**** Ok, so this turned into a short story more than a drabble, but I couldn't help myself. Sorry it's so darn long, I hope you enjoy it if you do take the time to read it.

The demon uncoiled the snake-like whip from around his arm, a evil-looking barb attached to the tip. Sam was lashed in the corner to a chair, watching the scene before him, knowing that what was happening to Dean would soon happen to him. Dean's back was bared, his arms tied around a pole. The demon chuckled, "I've got the infamous Winchester brothers, hard to believe how easy it was to get you both here, in my lair."

Suddenly the whip was thrown back over his shoulder then forced forward, hurtling with tremendous speed at Dean's back. "Snap!" The whip made a horrid cracking noise as it struck flesh. Again and again the lashes struck Dean's skin. The demon laughed as Dean screamed in pain. The whip pulled bits of flesh from his back, and each lash was more devastating than the last. Dean's back was a bloody mess, ripped open from the continuous bombardment of the whip. Sam hollered at the demon, but all his shouts were in vain, yet he continued for he couldn't stand seeing his brother in that much agony. Dean's lashing continued, his screams mingling with snobs, tearing at his throat, "Please, stop, you evil bastard! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Still, the whipping continued, his back bleeding in a crisscross pattern, sweat dripping into the wounds, making them sting even more. The raw mass of flesh had been dug deep and left Dean whimpering.

The demon turned to Sam next. "Your turn," he grinned. Sam blanched at the thought. Dean, however, had other plans. "More. I can take it you evil son of a bitch! I'll take his turn." "Very well," the demon said despite Sam's protests. Soon Dean's entire back had been stripped of flesh, all that was left was exposed muscle, painfully flayed until the blood flowed freely, deep gashes still visible in the sinew, revealing white bone. " 's ok Sammy," Dean muttered before passing out from blood loss.

"Dean!" screamed Sam, struggling to access his abilities. Suddenly a "switch" seemed to flip and Sam severed his bindings and forced the demon in the corner. He pulled out the demon-killing knife and ran at the demon, plunging the knife into his chest repeatedly for what it had done to Dean. When he was sure that it was dead and gone he turned to Dean, tears in his eyes. He quickly cut the rope from around his arms and caught Dean as he fell away from the pole, almost dropping him as his hands slipped, slick from Dean's blood-covered back. "I'll get you to the hospital Dean, I promise," Sam whispered fiercely into Dean's hair, cradling his head and gathering the limp body up. "I'm sorry about the Impala, but you're more important," his voice cracked as he spoke the words, laying Dean on the backseat of the car and rushing down the road searching for a blue hospital sign as tears filled his eyes. Dean moaned in the back and the bitter, metallic smell of blood filled the Impala. Sam sighed when he finally saw the arrow pointing out the hospital in the area. That was Dean's job, since he drove, finding out where all the local hospitals and police departments and such were. When Sam finally pulled into the ambulance bay doctors came out yelling for him to move the car. They stopped once they saw Sam lifting Dean up. He placed his big brother gently on the gurney they provided. "Help my brother, please." Sam spoke the words, but tears and bile made his words nearly unintelligible to the doctors. Dean was on his stomach, being wheeled away into the ER, the doctors already working to replace the blood lost and save Dean's life. "You can't die on me Dean," wept Sam, "We still need to get you out of your deal, you still have a little less than a year…not like this, please. Not like this. We were supposed to have more time together." The only response to Sam's plea was the swish of the ER bay doors opening and closing.


	2. Chapter 2 Aftermath

Inside the operating room the steady bleeping of machines filled the air. The doctor was frantically putting more blood into the patient before him; he had never seen someone so badly…torn up. That didn't even begin to cover it, though. Flayed alive was a closer description of the wounds before him.

"We need to stabilize this patient, STAT. Type and cross-match but for now more O neg. And get plastics on the phone ASAP!" the doctor hollered at the retreating nurse. Another entered with a 'whoosh' of the doors. "What do we have here, doctor?" questioned the new arrival. He looked down at the patient and gasped. "Holy shit! What the hell happened to this guy?" At that moment the nurse who had left returned with more blood, plasma, and the head of plastics.

"Damn! Did that dude get road rash or was a lawnmower involved Mason?" commented the plastic surgeon.

"Shut the hell up Freedberg and tell me what needs to be done to fix his back," snapped Dr. Mason.

"Skin grafts, and lots of them. Plus, there's always a chance of rejection too. We gotta talk with the family, who is this mess?"

"No clue, someone pulled up to the ER with him in their car. So I guess it might be a case of hit and run…nurse, I need some gauze, let's get this wound covered before it gets infected."

Suddenly the machines began to beep with crazy fury. "Asystole! We got a flatliner here on our hands people. It's hypovolemia; the blood volume has decreased too much. I need some epinephrine and quickly cover those wounds."

The nurses and doctors in the room worked with fevered efficiency to save the young man's life. Once Dean was turned from his back chest compressions were started. Dr. Mason wheeled a defibrillator into the area.

"That won't do you any good if he's in asystole," said Dr. Feedberg.

"It could be fine ventricular fibrillation," Dr. Mason got out the paddles, "Charging…Clear!" He placed the paddles on Dean's chest and the sadly beaten body jumped when the electric current hit him. "Still asystole. I'm gonna try to shock him again."

"You know it's not gonna work."

"Just give me one more shot at this before I crack his chest open," he panted as he continue chest compressions while the defibrillator charged. When it was ready he called again, "Clear!" Still, the young man he was working on did not respond. The doctor ran his hand across his face, "Ok…ok…scalpel."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sam paced in the ER waiting room. During that time a nurse came and took down information about Dean and tried to figure out what had happened so they could treat him. Dean was in really bad shape and the nurse kept asking what had caused it. When she suggested a hit and run type of situation, Sam latched on to the idea and ran with it, saying that his brother and he had been walking to their car and Dean had been hit by another car that was speeding through the intersection.

"Ok, so what's the last name, please?" requested the nurse. Sam mumbled Schneiderson and then quickly redirected. "Can you please tell me about Dean? Is he gonna be ok?"

The sound of "code blue" find the halls and other medical staff rushed into Dean's room. "Oh, God, is he…is Dean?" Sam's eyes filled with tears and he stood motionless with the nurse, thinking about all that they had been through in their lives and what had led them to the ER this night.


	3. Chapter 3 Remembered

Earlier

* * *

"So, what's this demon's name again, A man?" Dean grumbled as he loaded bullets into his colt.

"Not 'A man' it's Amon, Duke of Hell, kind of a big deal. He's supposed to be an evil son of a bitch so don't take this lightly Dean."

"I'm not, I swear, but, what the hell kind of name is Amon? Too wimpy for a demon if you ask me, what is he, Jamaican?"

"Yeah, and 'every ting's gonna be alright," Sam snorted in disgust. We're about to go after this thing without knowing much about it, maybe we should ask Ruby?"

"We got the pick sticker that kills demons, don't go dragging that bitch into this." Dean quickly turned away from Sam and headed into the mineshaft.

"But Dean, she could help us! Why does it seem like you have such a death wish? Just because you're year is getting closer to being up doesn't mean you have to rush to make it happen!" Sam was furious and fumed at Dean, who lashed right back at him, as he always did.

"I'm starting to think that maybe there's no way of saving me from the pit. I didn't do this so you could throw your life away! And Ruby, she wants to use you Sam, don't you get it? Make you evil, make you use your abilities and God knows what that will open up for you!" Dean ranted and raved about what should be done and how he wanted to be saved, if he would be at all.

"But if Ruby…" began Sam but Dean cut him off, "That bitch should shut the hell up!" Sam was furious and his cheeks flamed in anger but he knew that Dean wouldn't listen to reason, at least not when it came to him. Sam watched Dean enter the shaft and quickly followed after him. What came next they were not prepared for.

As soon as the Winchesters entered the mine they knew something wasn't quite right. The silence that echoed was too deep, and the way was just too easy.

"For a demonic lair I expected something more difficult to get through," spoke Sam, concern filling his voice.

"What do you want, throw pillows and a comfy couch? Get real; we're here to do a job and we're so freakin' good the demon doesn't even suspect." Dean's voice was filled with cocky bravado and he continued to walk the mineshaft fully confident in his abilities.

Suddenly, a mob of demonically possessed people came from the adjoining shafts. Two seemed more powerful then the rest and they tossed Sam and Dean against the wall, knocking the wind out of them. Then a tall man with jet black eyes approached the Winchesters, both of whom were being held in a sitting position on the floor. The demon smiled at the two other demons, "I'll take it from here, boys." Sam and Dean felt a release of pressure, only to be hurtled against the opposite wall with such force it knocked them both unconscious. Time lapsed without either knowing and they found themselves in the demon Amon's den, Dean lashed to a pole, his shirt gone, and Sam was tied to a chair in the corner. Amon was brandishing a whip. Then the torture began.


	4. Chapter 4 Redemption

Present

* * *

Sam snapped out of his thoughts of the nights past events and began running after the nurse. The whole memory had taken but a moment to relive, but it still felt too fresh, too real. Sam jumped a bit when a doctor started running at him, and then turned abruptly into the room Dean occupied.

As soon as Sam entered he paled at the sight before him. His mind was spinning out of control and his knees buckled, causing him to crash to the cold, bloody, tiled floor beneath him. Right before his eyes was a sight he'd never thought he'd see. Dean…the big brother who fought like the devil…Dean…Mr. Tough and ready…Dean…a strong man who never gave up, lying on a surgical table, his chest open, exposing his heart and internal organs to the world. A heart that was not beating but was being poked and prodded to life by doctors and nurses. He was blue, quiet, bloody, and unresponsive. Not the Dean that Sam knew at all. Sobs torn out of his throat and his hands clenched into tight fists while a nurse tried to remove him from the room.

_Please Dean, you can't die, not like this, no. You're my big brother, you've always been around to help me and save me and annoy me, _Sam thought. Desperately, he searched his mind for hoodoo, rituals, anointings, and even thought of summoning a crossroads demon, all just to get Dean back to the way he should be. Sam continued to look at his lifeless brother, tears streaming done his face uncontrollably. The doctors and nurses continued to work on his body, attempting to bring life to the bloody remains. "Save him!" yelled Sam, then, using Dean's favorite phrase he screamed in such agony and sorrow it seemed as if it would rip his throat open, "Dean, you can't die, you son of a bitch! I need you, you're my big brother!"

At that moment the doctor shocked Dean's heart for what he figured would be the last time. There was no saving this boy after all that. The electrical charge course through Den and, as if he'd heard his brother's screams, his heart started beating again. The doctor stepped back in aw, "We got a rhythm." The nurses and doctors quickly worked to keep Dean alive and mend the horrible wounds he had.

Sam began to run for Dean, pure hope and joy on his face. "Thank you," he said, smiling and turning to the doctor.

"We're not out of the woods yet, son. But this boy here is a fighter, he's not gonna give up. It's going to take months for those back wounds to heal, not to mention the fact that we had to open his chest…but I'm optimistic that he's gonna live."

"Dean," Sam stated in a monotone, completely drained of all emotion and energy. His only thought of his brother.

"What?" questioned the doctor.

"His name. It's Dean. He's my brother. And all his life he's fought long and hard, so yes, he's going to make it. I know it." Sam's eyes were once again filled with tears, this time of joy. He turned away and let the nurse lead him out to the waiting room.

_Yes, it's going to be a long hard road. Maybe we can get some anointing oils and rituals and speed up the process, though. Dean's got to make it though, and we're going to get him out of that damn deal if it's the last thing I do! _Sam focused on that thought as he called Bobby, needing the support of their old family friend during this difficult time but knowing that they would make it though somehow. After all, they were Winchesters.

***The End***


End file.
